Archive for August, 2009
Friday, August 28th, 2009
It still feels like summer, although there are a few red and gold leaves starting to sprinkle themselves on trees. Yet, there is a sense of anticipation in homes with children ready to put on their new shirts, skirts, slacks and get into the groove of reading, writing, and arithmetic. In many districts the schools will be filled with kids and good to go. Sadly, public education, especially in urban areas will have lots of gaps and empty spaces. It is sad for the youngsters who do not have family support or school support. The future is being created at this very moment and it is up to us to begin to ask the hard questions about our society. We are being judged on how we care for the young, how we help the infirm, and how we treat our elders. On all levels we do not get very good grades.
Click on Link to view Sylvia’s comment on:
Education Notes On-line regarding “Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s leadership continues to drive students away from DC Public Schools and to shrink the public school system.”
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Coaching, Communication, Consulting, Diversity, Education, Ethics, Executive Teams, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, Management, programs, Super Achiever, Team Building
Posted in Accountability, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Consulting, Diversity, Education, Executive Teams, Integrity, Leaders, Leadership, Management, PatternAware, Patterns, Super Achiever, Team Building, Transformation | No Comments »
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Senator Ted Kennedy is an example of a life well lived. Filled with bumps and valleys he is an example of courage and determination. A perfect life? Hardly. A complex life? Yes. A respected life? Often.
What can we learn from a life well lived? First, there are always “mosquitoes in paradise”. The Kennedy’s were the Camelot family. Wealthy, handsome, privileged. Yet, there were relationship difficulties, health issues, accidents, hurts, and disappointments.
Next, is how the traumas and discomforts were handled. Earlier in his life Ted ran from an accident where a female companion in the car died. At the time it tarnished his reputation and seemed to end the possibilities of a life in public service.
Then there was the plane crash that caused him physical pain for the rest of his life. And for a devout Catholic, there was divorce from his wife Joan. Think about how you might respond to daily public scrutiny. Think about how you would take each setback and make something positive come from it.
Ted was an example of leadership in action. His life was truly a leadership development course. He ended his career as an esteemed Senator who was able to connect people with each other and with ideas of merit. He was an impassioned champion of right choice and good deeds.
Think about how you can learn from his life as a leader, someone who mastered the art of conflict resolution, high level communication skills, and mostly, how to be a good man, an example of a life well lived.
Tags: Accountability, Business, Communication, Conflict, Death, Economy, Education, Ethics, family patterns, Health, History, Leaders, leadership programs, Media, Patterns, Politics, Power, programs, Senator Ted Kennedy, Transformation
Posted in Accountability, Business, Coaching, Communication, Conflict, Economy, Education, Ethics, Fear, Health, History, Honor, Integrity, Leaders, Leadership, Media, Patterns, Politics, Power, Transformation | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Our staff has been busy putting together a new workshop on active listening. It has our CEO stamp because it helps people look at the underlying patterns, learned in childhood that we bring with us to the workplace. This program is to improve communication skills, impact workplace relationships, help with conflict resolution, and enhance our leadership development program.
Talking and listening skills are at the core of team building and managing stress in the workplace. We know that hearing is only the physical act of letting sound waves into the brain. Listening, ah, that’s another story. Question: did you ever pay attention to your physical reactions when someone really listens to you?
I have been doing a bit of informal research on this issue. Many report a sense of calm, even if the subject is complex or contentious. Others gain greater clarity, even if the listener merely listens and says nothing. Still others have said they felt grateful, even a sense of deep appreciation, some have said they have felt as if their heart has expanded.
Interesting that if you take the word heart and peel it apart, kind of like peeling an onion, you find the words, hear, ear, and art imbedded. So, maybe, just maybe, listening is the way the ear uses, through the art of hearing/ listening to get us back to the heart.
I think I like the image of peeling an artichoke better, since when you peel the artichoke it has at its center, a heart!
Tags: Behavioral Patterns, Coaching, Communication, Consulting, Education, family patterns, Family-Based Patterns, Health, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, Management, pattern aware, Patterns, programs, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships
Posted in Accountability, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Consulting, Education, Executive Teams, Health, Integrity, Leaders, Leadership, Management, PatternAware, Patterns, Team Building, Transformation | No Comments »
Monday, August 24th, 2009
The furor over health care points to a core concern in our society; the way we discuss and decide important issues. Learning how to talk about and resolve contentious subjects should begin at home and in school. It rarely does.
In the business world executive education programs, management training courses, conflict resolution workshops, leadership development, take us only so far. Back in the workplace it is still too common and easy to fall back to the patterned reactions of agree-disagree, win-lose.
Last week John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods created uproar when he wrote about his perspective toward health care. He has a stake in the game and did comment about the difference healthy food makes in maintaining health. He also took on the present administration for its views. Is there something to learn from his thoughts?
Many who disagreed with him were ready to boycott his grocery stores. They wondered why he would alienate shoppers like themselves, Obama supporters. So, what is free speech? What does it mean to dig down, way down and look for new, innovative answers to old, frustrating questions? Why is it so hard to talk and so easy to polarize?
Philosopher Krishnamurti once said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society”. Is he talking about US? Is he talking about the U.S.?
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Business, Communication, Conflict, Economy, Executive Teams, family patterns, Health, Healthcare, John Mackey, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, pattern aware, Patterns, programs, Transformation
Posted in Accountability, Business, Coaching, Communication, Conflict, Consulting, Economy, Executive Teams, Health, Leaders, Leadership, Management, PatternAware, Patterns, Politics, Power, Transformation | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Sorry if things are unfair and your dreams are turning from bold colors to faded fragments. Guess what, instead of putting your head down and stewing you do something. The question is “What”? You have a choice; question is “Choose what”? In our “Total Leadership Connections program“ there is a core teaching about patterns and the tendency of the little buggers to replicate in many settings. They just don’t want to let go!
So, this is a time to show who is in charge, you or your story. When we are disappointed with life, when what we want is not happening there is fear, dread that “it” will happen again. After all, you ask, “History does repeat itself, well, doesn’t it”?
The answer is, “Only if you let it”! Patterns of disappointment are often handed from generation to generation, like a fine set of china or a family crest. It is up to each individual to look tough times and disappointments square in the eye and say “It will stop with me”!
Example, been laid-off and the next job is just not happening? Sales lower than ever and don’t show signs of an upswing? Is an impending merger putting you in competition with the new guys? Stress getting you to have too many colds and sleepless nights? Your partner complaining nothing ever works right?
You can either change your physiology or your psychology. Trust me; it’s easier to start with your body. What I mean by that is push the fear aside and move! No, not necessarily where you live, I mean your body. Walk, jog, dance, talk to a friend, talk to a stranger. If you live in the city get to the country for a day, or even for a few hours. If you live in the country, get to a city. To do what you ask? Who cares, just walk around.
You see when we are faced with disappointments and we stay sedentary the old tapes keep playing in our heads. So, become pattern aware. Listen to what your inner voice is saying and begin to reprogram yourself. That’s what real leaders do. The best way to stop the tapes is to move your body, hold your chin up, smile, that’s right, force the smile. You can’t be as sad and disappointed if you pick yourself up, brush yourself off and start to move.
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Diversity, family patterns, Family-Based Patterns, Fear, Health, History, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, Management, Money, pattern aware, Patterns, programs, Psychology, Transformation
Posted in Accountability, Diversity, Economy, Fear, Health, History, Leaders, Leadership, Management, Neuroscience, PatternAware, Patterns, Psychology, Transformation | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
In our executive leadership development program we teach juggling. Yes, juggling. We don’t use plates or fire burning torches. The high potentials, entrepreneurs, and seasoned managers in our courses learn to juggle personalities. The capacity to hold lots of swirling egos without having them fall to the ground is the sign of a high level leader.
Let me explain. We all know we are not push button robots who are programmed to do our work, say “Yes” to every request, perform perfectly and then pick our human selves up at the door before we go home. Some part of every leader would honestly prefer this, except then we would just need high level mechanics and programmers to keep businesses running.
Unless leaders have a keen understanding of what makes employees tick, what causes one to push while another wants to pull, when one says “stop” while another says “go” there is little chance of team or organization success over the long haul.
So, back to juggling: It is vital to be aware of the patterns that we bring to the workplace and how these patterns cause us to interact. An insightful leader can keep positive action going and the players from hitting the ground by helping them become aware and accountable of having what they say and what they do stay in alignment.
Any juggler worth his or her weight in twirling plates knows that staying steady and aligned, keeping a sharp eye on how the plates create a pattern, and following the physical law of gravity is what determines success or crash.
So, learn the rules of relationships and keep your team moving from task to task quickly and easily. All it takes is lots of practice!
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Consulting, Education, Executive Teams, Juggling, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, Management, pattern aware, Patterns, programs, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships
Posted in Accountability, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Consulting, Education, Employers, Executive Teams, Leaders, Leadership, Management, PatternAware, Patterns, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
These few weeks before Labor Day are the ones that scream out “STOP”. This is the end point before the next beginning. This is the last of those lazy days before the autumn surge. School soon moves into high gear. Work takes on a more intense flavor, executive leadership programs, business seminars, conferences are all fighting for our attention.
Have you taken a vacation this summer? Have you taken the time to sit and stare…at the ocean or pine trees or slot machines? Whatever makes you stop thinking for even a brief time is what really matters. The root of the word vacation is to vacate, make empty.
We all need time to stop the mind from moving into fast forward. The most common way is to do something, anything that is not the norm, not the pattern. We all need to create a pattern interrupt scenario for ourselves. That is how we can think new thoughts and gather new ideas.
So, be it for a few hours, a day, or a week, take the time to empty your mind. Take time to smell the roses, or the salt air from the ocean. Take time to listen to real birds twittering. Take time to inhale and push out a strong, robust exhale. Most of us really do wait to exhale. So pick your own personal favorite way to empty your mind and then just do it!
Tags: Coaching, Consulting, Economy, family patterns, Health, Leadership, leadership programs, pattern aware, Patterns, programs, Psychology, Stress, Transformation, Vacation
Posted in Coaching, Communication, Consulting, Economy, Education, Health, Holiday, Leaders, Leadership, PatternAware, Patterns, Reflections | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Last week when I visited Pilgrims Pride I saw the power of how good people management and a vision of “whole people at work” can make a difference. One reason, among many, has to do with their Human Resource department.
Often H.R. is filled with individuals who know the rules and make sure they are followed. And then there are the few who really see their mandate to manage and grow the people. Such as Human Resources at Pilgrim’s Pride, deep in the heart of Texas.
The company could be considered a virtual small town with 43,000 employees in many states. So, what do they do differently and what are the tips for growth and development?
Inspiration from a book written by Michael Gooch, a senior V.P. in the company gives a snapshot of the philosophy that permeates the company.
In “Wingtips with Spurs” he shares best practices cowboy style. And in the wisdom of the vast open plains and the ranch where it takes true grit and determination to master the day to day challenges of man, animal, and the elements we can learn about resourcefulness, adaptability, and resiliency.
The practice of people management is more an art than a science. Ranchers and managers often fall into the same trap of reactionary behavior that has them responding to near disasters on a daily basis. Here are some tips for executive leadership development programs, conflict resolution workshops and how to behave better with each other.
1. About arguments and upsets: Conflict like water, sustains life. However, like water, take on too much and you drown.
2. Management fads: Fads are like cattle stampedes. Everyone participates, there is a lot of dust and noise; and at the end, you find yourself miles from your goal. Don’t follow the herd. Search instead for excellence.
3. Leadership: If you’re riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.
4. Diversity: A good horse never comes in a bad color.
That’s the kind of down to earth and honest thinking that makes “Wingtips and Spurs” a must read for those in leadership positions, high potentials on the road to riding at the head of the herd, and everyone in human recourses to really understand the mandate of that important role.
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Boss, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Consulting, Diversity, Education, Executive Teams, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, Management, Michael Gooch, pattern aware, Patterns, programs, Team Building, Transformation, Wingtips with Spurs, Workplace Relationships
Posted in Accountability, Boss, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Consulting, Diversity, Employers, Executive Teams, Honor, Integrity, Leaders, Leadership, Management, Patterns, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships | No Comments »
Monday, August 17th, 2009
One hot sunny day last week we drove two hours east to visit with some human resource executives at Pilgrim’s Pride in Pittsburg, Texas.
You all know Pilgrim’s Pride if you ever think about eating chicken. It’s the nation’s largest poultry company and is consistently on Fortune’s list of America’s Most Admired Companies.
Having lunch with Jane Brookshire, Executive V.P. of H.R. we talked about oil, corn, chickens, and poverty. Until then those concepts never would have come together in my thinking. Our lunch discussion gave me, if you will, food for thought. Using corn to make ethanol means that the price for feeding chickens goes up, and this staple is no longer readily available for a large majority of folks who see this as an important and inexpensive part of their diet. Healthy, low cost and versatile, chicken is good for you. It made me see the trade off we make and ethanol, which seems to be an interim solution, certainly is not the long range answer.
Lunch covered many other subjects and Connie, Donna, and Mike who are at the core of talent management, leadership development, and supervisor training talked extensively about what they do and hope to continue doing in their executive leadership training programs. What impressed me the most was their cumulative desire to permit their employees, over 43,000 of them, to bring “the whole person to work” at every level of the organization.
This is the kind of company that walks its talk and we left for our drive back to the Dallas airport with renewed determination to help make work a place for employees to grow and become the best they can be. It’s exciting to see a company that really knows employees need more than a pay check to sustain health and well being, regardless of the economy.
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Conflict, Economy, Ethics, Leaders, Leadership, leadership programs, Management, Patterns, programs, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships
Posted in Accountability, Business, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Conflict, Consulting, Economy, Education, Employers, Executive Teams, Honor, Integrity, Leaders, Leadership, Management, Patterns, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships | No Comments »
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
When I was at Google last month I had the pleasure of hearing Dan Goleman talk about his new book “Ecological Intelligence”. Dr. Goleman has been, and continues to be a pioneer in “new thinking”.
We know enough about the brain in this century to understand its plasticity. This means there is an ever changing possibility that we can grow and become smarter every day of our lives. No more is I.Q. considered static. No more are we doomed to become old and dumber. No more are our ailments meant to be lived with, to suffer in silence.
And now that we know we are masters of change we can do something about almost everything! Thus, “Ecological Intelligence” charges us to think, and think, and think again.
It is time to become more conscious, to stay awake to the world, to own our own power. No, not in a way to claim our power over nature, that is the old way. Rather it is vital that we be stewards with nature. This is the time for all of us to learn about and become proficient in systems thinking.
In his book, Dan Goleman reveals to us how the invisible environment we have been ignoring is causing us to choke on our own decisions. He shows us that “being green” without thinking through what that means is merely a “feel good “marketing ploy.
We need to ask questions, questions that take us up river to the hidden impact of the goods and services we consume. For example, he talks about the sunscreen he used to use, thinking it was environment friendly, until he did some research and found that the very cream that kept his skin from burning has an ingredient that feeds a virus that kills the coral reef.
So what is our responsibility? To make the time and take the effort to go back, to learn and understand how the past impacts the present. In our executive leadership program, Total Leadership Connections, we use a process that takes each individual back to Observe, Understand, and Transform the habits and patterns passed from generation to generation. This process helps us cast a critical eye on why we do what we do. It puts real power in our hands. It helps us understand the etiology of workplace conflict and how to make change quickly and effectively.
It is this same process that Goleman suggests for becoming informed buyers who truly take care of the planet. Its about you, it’s about me, it’s about time!
Tags: Accountability, Behavioral Patterns, Book, Business, Communication, Conflict, Dan Goleman, Ecological Intelligence, Economy, Enviroment, Ethics, family patterns, Family-Based Patterns, Google, Health, Leadership, leadership programs, pattern aware, Patterns, Transformation, Workplace Relationships
Posted in Accountability, Business, Communication, Economy, Ethics, Executive Teams, Health, Honor, Integrity, Leaders, Leadership, PatternAware, Patterns, Team Building, Transformation, Workplace Relationships | No Comments »
